Aki Satō

Authors

Aki Satō
佐藤亜紀

Aki Satō (1962–) first began writing fiction when she was only ten years old. From early on, she wanted to become a scholar and writer on the model of Umberto Eco. After completing a master’s degree in 18th-century art criticism, she studied for a year in France. Her literary debut came in 1991 when she won the Japan Fantasy Novel Award for Barutazaru no henreki (Balthazar’s Travels). In 2003 she received the MEXT Award for New Artists for her novel Tenshi (The Angel), set in Austria on the eve of World War I, and in 2007 she was awarded the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers for her novel Minotaurosu (Minotaur). As a writer who also teaches university courses in creative writing, she levels a sharp critical eye on the techniques of fiction, and is also known as an aficionado of opera. She is married to fellow Japan Fantasy Novel Award winner Tetsuya Satō.

Author Aki Satō’s eye for detail and her meticulous reconstruction of an era shine in this vivid portrait of rebellious German youths who find a salvation of sorts by immersing themselves in the local jazz scene of Hamburg during the years 1939 to 1945 …